Dhamaal 4 (2026): A Treasure Hunt That Forgot Its Own Map
Somewhere in the middle of this 143-minute scramble, you will watch four grown men scream at each other over a map that leads nowhere new. The treasure-hunt engine that powered the original Dhamaal still runs, but the fuel has gone stale.
Indra Kumar’s fourth instalment is less a film than a franchise counting its own pulse. It arrives with the comfort of an old shirt and the fit of one that never quite suited you.
Guddu Rastogi Returns, But Where’s The Fire?
Ajay Devgn slips back into Guddu Rastogi like a man visiting a childhood home. The swagger is intact, the comic timing dependable, but the material gives him nothing to chew on.
His scenes with the ensemble carry the film’s energy, yet there is no solo moment where the actor gets to stretch. This is franchise maintenance, not performance.
Indra Kumar’s Direction: Familiarity Over Invention
The director’s strength has always been keeping the ensemble together, and that skill remains visible. The four leads share a rhythm that decades of partnership have built.
But the screenplay by Paritosh Painter and team follows a linear treasure-hunt structure so predictable that you can set your watch by the beats. The weakness is structural: no risk, no surprise, no reason to lean forward.
The Comedy Engine: Broad, Loud, And Exhausting
The film operates on situational comedy built around the recurring characters’ greed and rivalry. It is loud, it is broad, and it aims squarely at an audience that wants exactly this register.
Arshad Warsi’s Aditya and Riteish Deshmukh’s Lallan bounce off each other with practiced ease, but the gags recycle the same tension points. The treasure-hunt premise gives structure, not freshness.
By the second half, the repetition wears thin. What worked as chaotic energy in 2007 now reads as a cast going through motions they have perfected but no longer feel.
Supporting Players: The Old Guard And The New Faces
Jaaved Jaaferi remains the sharpest comic mind in this ensemble. His Manav Srivastav delivers deadpan beats that land harder than the louder set pieces around him.
Ravi Kishan enters as a prominent addition, though the film never fully defines his threat. Sanjay Mishra and Upendra Limaye fill the margins with the reliable presence that mid-budget Hindi comedy has come to depend on.
Esha Gupta’s Prachi exists mostly as Guddu’s anchor, a role that gives her little beyond reaction shots. The casting signals continuity over ambition.
If you are weighing whether this brand of comedy still works in 2026, our Hindi Comedy reviews cover the full spectrum of what the genre is doing right now.
What The Critics Say, And What The Audience Thinks
India Today’s average critic rating sits at 1.5/5, a number that reflects the film’s refusal to evolve. The most generous reading comes from a review noting the film “sticks to the one formula it knows best: a treasure hunt.”
That formula is precisely what fans want. The return of the core quartet, the slapstick, the ensemble chaos, these are the draws that will fill seats. But the same familiarity that pleases the faithful is what critics have flagged as repetitive rather than inventive.
Audience complaints mirror the critical ones: predictable structure, uneven humor, and a sense that this instalment adds little to the franchise’s legacy. I found myself checking the runtime more than once, which is never a good sign.
If this brand of chaotic ensemble comedy appeals to you, the earlier Small Clouds review offers a sharper take on similar dynamics.
Dhamaal 4 is a film for franchise loyalists who want exactly what they have seen before, served in the same order. For everyone else, it is a reminder that nostalgia is not a plot. Watch it on a lazy weekend with low expectations, in the regular format, and you might find the occasional laugh worth the wait.
Dhamaal 4 plays it safe to a fault, earning a generous 2 out of 5 for the cast’s enduring chemistry and nothing more.
For a film that understands how to stretch time and tension, ETERNAL MAN verdict shows what pacing discipline looks like.
Ankit Jaiswal is the Chief Author, covering Indian cinema and OTT releases with honest, no-filler criticism. An SEO strategist by background, he brings a research-driven approach to film writing, cutting through hype to tell you exactly what's worth your time.
